Watching some of the Olympics-mostly gymnastics and swimming. Although I find swimming boring. At least races in track you can see the entire body and not just a swimming cap. Keep hoping for the diving to start. Also watching THE DIPLOMATS on Prime. It is set in Barcelona and is not the one with Keri Russell. Also watched a doc on Liz Taylor on Max and a doc on Somerset Maugham on Kanopy.
Going to see THE COUP today. I know it's not going to be good but Peter Sarsgard's acting interests me.
What about you?
Very hot week.
23 comments:
Our week has been slightly milder of late, with a few rainy days at least somewhat helping...the lawn has appreciated it.
Enjoying most of the same series as previously mentioned, having wrapped up a rewatch of LIFE today, and particularly enjoyed an episode of LAST WEEK TONIGHT detailing much of what's wrong with RFK,Jr. It didn't catch up with his "practical joke" of moving the corpse of a roadkill black bear cub, supposedly hit by others, to NYC's Central Park and leaving a bicycle on top of it, Because It Was Funny, A Bear Cub Run Down by a Bicyclist who leaves the bike...Laff Riot. I see that my watching PETER GUNN repeats on the MeTV network has shown me nearly all of them, as the Chinese hand-fan episode is a familiar one. One ridiculous Chinese-Am imposture actor, playing the Chief Villain, but actual Asian-Am actors in other roles, too rare for 1959 TV.
Collected the range of most of my usual-suspect fiction magazines (only F&SF remains a no-show) off the B&N newsstand...HARPER'S didn't get the nod this time for wasting space on William Vollmann, and I might come back, having building up some purchase credits on one of their plans, to get THE NEW YORKER fiction issue and the most recent (Canadian) SUBTERRAIN.
Hope THE COUP is at least interesting. Take care in the heat. I like the haikuist generosity line.
Yesterday was barely 80 here, and seemed a relief after the heat we've been having this summer. Still, I remember years when it was 100 (not since 2010-2011-2012), and even the hot days this year are low 90s. Still...my mantra is, it could always be worse. To wit: my brother took his son and granddaughter (obsessed with anime) to Japan, and he could not take it. The 95 degree heat with 50% humidity were so bad that he is leaving them there and returning home tomorrow. I told him not to overdo it at 74, but... now he's sorry.
We have a concert this week - The Doobie Brothers with Michael McDonald at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday. We'll be staying over at a nearby Marriott that night.
We haven't been watching much on Netflix lately, but we're watching three shows now, two old (BREAKING BAD and SUITS) and one new (the second series of the German KLEO, set just after the fall of the Berlin Wall). And Jackie has started watching DEXTER.
We watched the first series of the Israeli HOSTAGES on Netflix, but they didn't have series two. Now the latter has turned up on MHz Choice/Topic and we're catching up. It does pick up where the first series left off and is too complicated to explain simply. Also watching the new series of the British/Italian SIGNORA VOLPE on Acorn. Also another Israeli show, THE TRUTH, which is apparently based on a true story. Ten years after a man was imprisoned for killing a young girl, his appeal might set him free. Then a second murder, eerily similar to the first, takes place. I think this is on Acorn too. TROPPO is Australian, on Amazon Prime & Freevee.
I read the latest Michael Robotham, STORM CHILD, and except for one of those "had I but known" sequences towards the end (which I hate), it was good as always. Also finished up a couple of short story collections, and have two more nearing completion.
Have a good week.
Advice is given/From generous haiku pros/Gratefully received.
It's been a blazingly hot week here also, with the exception being yesterday. Still hot but with a cool gentle breeze. Perfect beach weather. Yes, there was a dolphin in the distance, but also a few jellyfish. While we were at the beach, Mark was in Alabama playing with venomous snakes. According to the weather gods, the storm that will eat Florida will hit the state this week but should miss out little slice of heaven by a hair. We'll see.
My house/pet sitting duties got off to a bad start with normally well-trained dogs puking and pooping and peeing all over the place and a housecat who decided to go walkabout for two days. Things go straightened out and the rest of the week went fine. The nineteen-year-old cat did not die on my watch, however...she has become more listless and seems to have developed a mouth infection. We're taking her to the vet today and will hope for the best.
The trip to Virginia for Walt and Christina and the kids was the trip from hell -- blinding rain and numerous detours for the entire two days. The return trip was the trip from the hell-ier hell, topped off with a stay at Hotel Skeezy that sent them packing at 1 a.m. in disgust. They were glad they made the trip, though. Walt's 80-year-old father is doing very well after his recent heart attack and both of Walt's parents doted on the kids in the most awkward grandparently way.
Jack came into my room, insisting we watch TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES (the one where the JACK REACHER actor plays Raphael). When he realized there was a sequel, he also insisted on watching that. Thus, I realized why Megan fox has never been described as the next Meryl Streep. The things I do...
School starts here next week.
Read a totally useless, outlier nonfiction book by Lawrence Block, REAL FOOD PLACES, co-written by Cheryl Morrison. It's a 43-year-old guidebook to restaurants that serve natural, health, and vegetarian food, published before "vegan" was a thing. (Some of the "restaurants" were nothing more than snack and/or sandwich bars within health food stores, and some were run by various religious groups adhering to their particular dietary practices.) Over 350 food place were reviewed, with over 250 of them signed by the reviewer. They had about 20 reviewers and Block and Morrison each reviewed less that a dozen places. Forty states were covered, along with the District of Columbia and three Canadian provinces. Although the reviews ranged from the good, to the blah, to the ugly, most were enthusiastic. The book was published by now-defunct Rodale Press, the health and lifestyle company which published the magazines PREVENTION and MEN'S HEALTH. At the beginning and at the end of the book were please to readers to sent in their own reviews to be included in later editions. There were no later editions. I'm still wondering why the hell I read the entire book.
Also read Block's memoir of his early writing years, A WRIER PREPARES. F. Paul Wilson's latest thriller THE UPWELLING is obliquely related to his Secret History of the World; the sequel is due in September. I also read a Rex Stout collection of very early short stories, AN OFFICER AND A LADY, completing my read of all his known short stories. MURRAY LEINSTER: THE LIFE AND WORKS was a personal biography written by his two youngest daughters, Billee J. Stallings and Jo-An J. Evans, and was my FFB this week.
Have a great week, Patti! Stay safe.
I've tried my hand at haiku a couple of times, Patti - still haven't got it really right. It's a good exercise, though.
That's A WRITER PREPARES. Darned fumble fingers!
When I think of all of the lonely grandparents sitting by themselves in various rooms, I then think of Jerry caring for kids and kats and dogs and various other species and all the while reading on the beach.
I am not sure why the John Oliver show has never appealed to me. Something about his delivery more than its content. Even more so with Jon Stewart.
Always expected to return and watch BREAKING BAD again without the long periods between seasons but somehow I haven't. Likewise THE SOPRANOS, DEXTER, THE WIRE. If I rewatch I guess I want lighter fare-like MAD MEN.
I read A WRITER PREPARES. He sure does get every ounce of writing out of himself. I don't think I could watch Peter Gunn unless it was remastered.
Most of the GUNN copies MeTV look pretty good, albeit sometimes the new distributors put their once-current copyright notices on the tail end or, more foolishly, over the old Spartan Productions copyright lines.
John Oliver and Jon Stewart both choose to pretend how much it hurts to be them as they do their thing, and I agree, that aspect can be somewhat tiresome. But often they are clever enough, insightful enough, or have good enough staff and cast working with them that I can tolerate the more self-indulgent aspects of their shtick. Colbert doesn't do that much, and when Seth Meyers gets a bit smarmy, it's usually a bit more clear he's mocking himself.
Not wasting away is definitely better, Jerry. Hope the cat has a better prognosis than you fear.
The Stock Markets are melting down since the Federal Reserve--who should have cut interest rates a quarter of a percent last week...but didn't--screwed up the world financial system. The Japanese Stock Market is down 12% and European stocks are tumbling down, too. What a mess!
Still waiting for Kamala's VP pick. Diane wants Josh Shapiro, Governor of Pennsylvania. I'm partial to Mark Kelly (no relation), Senator from Arizona and a former astronaut.
Western NY cooked in unusually warm temps last week. We're supposed to get rain today and a cold front passing through that will bring us 70 degree temperatures for the rest of the week. And, finally, I'm recovering from Covid-19. I'd say about about 90% with a little more energy each day. But, what a drag the last month has been. Stay safe!
Willow update: The cat has stopped being listless. Antibiotics have been prescribed for her mouth infection; no sign of tumors. She was active and curious and loving at the vets this morning, purring her sweet little heart out. She has lost weight and suffers from arthritis and is old-old-old, but she is not in any pain and appears very content. So we are happy to stay the course and will continue to do our best to give her good life for however long she has left. The time will come, perhaps sooner than later, but for now she's back home and happy. And so are we.
So with that worry out of our way, we're off the Pensacola where Christina can sign some papers that will hopefully prevent the pedo that had been targeting Jack from approaching us if and when he is released on bail. Then it's off to Buckee's in Alabama because Jack wants a Buckee's tee-shirt for school next week.
George, I'm partial to Kelly, too. But if he is nominated, the Dems had better spend a lot of money, carefully and wisely, to ensure that the Senate does not fall into Republican hands and perhaps switch the balance of power in the Senate.
Shapiro has skeletons. Kelly is not the best for labor relations, but Shapiro has been doing some shadiness. Kelly probably will be a better choice, and Walz might well be, as well. Sec. Pete B is clearly the best on a debate stage, but "soft" chauvinism will probably not allow for him to be on the ticket with a biracial woman of color any more than it would allow two women. Yet, I hope, and I hope I'm being too pessimistic there as it is.
Jackie thinks Kelly - who is more necessary in the Senate- has taken himself out. I love Mayor Pete, but not likely. It's looking good for Shapiro, which I think will drive Trump over the last edge he's clinging to, as well as the odious weasel Vance.
I am thinking it might be Walz at this point. I think Shapiro is controversial with Gaza going on.
Going straight to the most recent VP guessing above: I've been impressed with Buttigieg over the past couple years. Never gave him much thought when he ran his Presidential bid. I agree that having another "other" on the ticket can be a hard sell to many voters. Sad, but true.
My wife and I went to Bayfield in Northern Wisconsin and stayed at an bed and breakfast for three nights. A solid vacation for our anniversary. Did some hiking, some walking around Bayfield, eating, beer sampling, and a boat tour of the Apostle Islands. I am very dismissive of tours for several reasons I won't get into. But, the boat tour was fun and I had a nice time sitting on the open top deck. Unfortunately I lost my balance at one point - yes, I was holding onto to something - and fell onto a chair back. I heard a crunch and am now fairly certain I broke or cracked a rib. It might be a bad bruise. I don't have a doctor appointment until tomorrow afternoon.
While we were on vacation I checked out used paperbacks and chanced on another in Margaret Frazer's JOLIFFE series. Heard Laura Lippman's AFTER I'M GONE and was not surprised it earned an Anthony Award. Really great presentation of the characters by Lippman. Started a Nero Wolfe audio and a ten-year-old Barry Eisler novel that was suspiciously familiar. Probably because I read the damn thing in 2014 when it came out. Good thing I only paid $0.25 for it.
ON TV I finished season two of animated show ROYAL CRACKERS on Max. Found out GIRLS5EVA is on Netflix and started that.
One thing I just remembered. We were in downtown Bayfield and I wanted a coffee. I was going to go to the coffee joint we'd gone to the previous day but decided to try the shack next door with a sign that said "JUST COFFEE". I walked up to the window to ask for a coffee and the young lady turned to the Mr. Coffee at her elbow to switch it on. Waited around for the dripper to drip. They had no creamer. I was probably drinking Folgers. I did not finish the drink.
Patti, I recently read a review of THE FRIDAY AFTERNOON CLUB. I will be interested to know what you think about it. It has not been hot here, the temperatures are in the low 70s, but when we are out working in the sun it feels very hot and tires us out quickly.
Watching... We are getting close to finishing the first season of TULSA KING. We watched a movie, THE MORE THE MERRIER, with Charles Coburn, Jean Arthur and Joel McCrea. It was fun. Now I want to watch more with Joel McCrea. Still watching STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE, LEVERAGE: REDEMPTION, and MURDER SHE WROTE. And CSI of course, in the 12th season. Finished RABBIT HOLE and watching more of THE ORVILLE with Seth MacFarlane.
I finished reading BIRDCAGE by Victor Canning last night. It is the 5th book in the Birdcage series, about a covert security group in the UK. I love the series, although this one had a very dark ending that I wasn't expecting.
Glen is reading DEAR CALIFORNIA: THE GOLDEN STATE IN DIARIES AND LETTERS by David Kipen. It sounds like a very good book and I am definitely going to read it. The structure is unusual but seems to work very well. There are letters and diary entries for each day of the year. Within each day, the entries are ordered from oldest to newest. Glen read me a very funny entry by P.G. Wodehouse about writing screenplays in Hollywood for various studios.
Yikes, Gerard...least dire prognosis for you, as well. May poor Folger's be your good luck charm.
Yours for more temperate days, Tracy,
Current Twitter meme--10 TV series that can help define you...I would be poorly defined by the 10 (or 25) series I might've enjoyed the most over the years, but I did drop a list:
FRANK'S PLACE
BARNEY MILLER
SCTV
ONCE AND AGAIN
ST. ELSEWHERE (after the first season, particularly)
LOU GRANT
THE GREAT AMERICAN DREAM MACHINE
FRONTLINE
NOVA
MR. SHOW
HOMICIDE: LIFE ON THE STREETS
THE UNDERSEA WORLD OF JACQUES COUSTEAU
NEWSRADIO
WKRP IN CINCINNATI
TRYING TIMES (PBS anthology)
THRILLER (1960s US antho)
THE NEWSROOM (CBC sitcom, w/sequel series)
LIFE (crime drama)
PERSON OF INTEREST
THE BOB NEWHART SHOW ('70s)
SUNDAY NIGHT/NIGHT MUSIC
BOOKMARK (Lewis Lapham's show)
JAZZ CASUAL (Ralph Gleason's '60s National Educational Television series)
THE GOOD WIFE
HILL STREET BLUES
CAGNEY AND LACEY
SNL
Love THE MORE THE MERRIER and Joel McCrea and Jean Arthur and Charles Coburn.
Mine would be MAD MEN, MARY TYLER MOORE, FRASIER, THIRTY-SOMETHING, INSIDE THE ACTOR'S STUDIO, SUCCESSION, FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS, THE WEST WING, CHEERS, BREAKING BAD
The fact that a coffee place like that stays in business is something.
Love Joel in THE PALM BEACH STORY too. Double the pleasure.
Tweet from a comedian:
Janel Comeau
@VeryBadLlama
Harris: we need to come together as a country
Trump: the Mexicans want asylum, they're breaking into our mental hospitals
RFK Jr: in October of 1998 I left a jar of human eyes in the fiction section of a Borders bookstore in Philadelphia
As you've probably learned, Harris asked Walz. Alice, who had been doomsaying how Drumpf was likely to win (I've suspected he won't since jump), was immediately cheered and is now certain the Dem ticket will take it. (also, The New Comment format is Back, at least for me.)
You know, shame on me for forgetting BORGEN. And THE WHITE LOTUS has been pretty impressive, as well.
And SHAMELESS (US)...I still haven't seen more than an episode of the original. Too easy for me to run up a list of a hundred.THE OFFICE (US) at least comes close.
TV series to define me? I've no idea. I presume the request is supposed to list shows that added to my personality and beliefs and I have no answer.
I visited the Doctor yesterday about my ribs. I came home and announced the good news that my rib is broken and that I have not just been a wuss the last several days.
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